After 21 UFC appearances, longtime lightweight and featherweight mainstay Nik Lentz (30-12-2) announced his retirement following a loss at UFC 257 in January.

“They say don’t make rash decisions after a loss, but this one is not rash or even quick for that matter,” Lentz said. “The injury I suffered to my eyes last year was a career-ender. In total, I lost about 40% of my vision, but I wanted to see what one more hard-fought battle was like with the new eyes. It was clear to me last night that it’s impossible for me to compete at this level anymore.”

Since retirement, Lentz, 37, has become one of the primary coaches and cornermen at Sanford MMA in Florida.

Former UFC lightweight James Vick (13-6) announced his retirement from MMA after suffering a brutal knockout loss in his first fight after parting ways with the UFC.

“I took the worst loss of my career – I went out on my shield like I always have like a warrior,” Vick said. “I am very sorry to everyone who helped and believe in me so much this last year. The truth is I haven’t felt that passion/love for fighting the way I use to in a long time.

Vick, 34, fought 14 times under the UFC banner since his debut in August 2013. His four-fight losing skid on his way out of the promotion came against Niko Price, Dan Hooker, Paul Felder, and Justin Gaethje.

Dutch heavyweight Stefan Struve (29-13) retired from competition for a second time due to medical issues that were plaguing his career.

“I’ve decided it’s time to retire from fighting,” Struve said. “I’ve had an inner ear issue that I’ve been battling … I have been dealing with major vertigo issues and also loss of hearting and tinnitus.”

Struve, 33, had 24 fights under the UFC banner going back to his debut in February 2009. During that time, he racked up the third-most finishes (11) and second-most submissions (six) in UFC heavyweight history.

Welterweight Paul Kelly (15-5) was effectively retired from MMA due to a prison sentence for drug trafficking that kept him away from 2013-2020. He came back for one fight in 2020, though, and got a win under the Probellum MMA banner. Almost a year later, he officially walked away.

“My life is on a different path now, one that means I can’t commit my life to fighting anymore like my opponent will be,” Kelly said of his decision. “Winning is winning and for me now winning is making sure my family have a bright future.”

Kelly, 37, got some notoriety fighting for the UFC on nine occasions from 2008-2011.

Bellator welterweight Aaron Chalmers (5-2), a former reality TV star-turned fighter, shifted his path away from MMA to focus on other goals in life.

“I’ve left MMA behind,” Chalmers said. “I’m at a new gym training towards a new career and that was literally the game changer. It’s true you do become who you surround yourself with and I couldn’t be happier.”

Chalmers, 34, went 2-2 under the Bellator banner during his tenure.

Longtime MMA vet and fan favorite Leonard Garcia (18-13-1) finally put a halt to a 22-year combat sports career, citing fulfillment in his accomplishments.

“I still got a lot left in the tank,” Garcia said. “I’m still a legend. I still did everything I said I was going to do.”

Although Garcia, 42, hasn’t fought in MMA since 2014, the nine-fight UFC veteran and four-time “Fight of the Night” winner remained in competition fighting under the BKFC banner before finally putting a bow on his career.

Jimmy Flick

Flyweight Jimmy Flick (16-5) made perhaps the most unexpected retirement of the year when he announced he was hanging up his gloves after a single UFC appearance that ended in a flying triangle choke and earned “Performance of the Night” honors.

“The UFC is not my dream anymore,” Flick said of his decision. “It is hard to explain. It brings tears to my eyes. But the UFC is not looking out for me. My wife’s looking out for me. My kids are looking out for me. That’s what I want. I want to be their father. I want to go to work every day (and) come home with my family. I want to come home to my little girls. I want to spend time with my wife.”

Flick, 31, had been a professional for more than 10 years before he chose to alter his path away from the fight game shortly after breaking into the UFC.

Welterweight Alan Jouban (17-7) retired from MMA after 13 UFC appearances to focus more thoroughly on his on-air broadcasting career, where he regularly serves as an analyst on UFC programming.

“I would not change a single thing from my journey because I got to live my dream,” Jouban said. “I’ll focus my time now on broadcasting where I can still share my passion and knowledge for the sport with everyone at home.”

During his tenure with the UFC, Jouban, 39, racked up four “Fight of the Night” bonuses, and earned notable wins over Mike Perry, Belal Muhammad, and Ben Saunders.

UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder (17-6) put an end to his 10-year career as a pro fighter after feeling there was a cap to what he could accomplish inside the cage.

“I feel like it’s gotten to a point where I don’t have that burning desire to fight up for many more years and become the champion,” Felder said. “I always said if I don’t see that title picture in the next year or so in my future then I’d retire.”

Felder, 37, fought for the UFC from 2014 to 2021. “The Irish Dragon” walked away from the sport with notable wins over Edson Barboza, James Vick, and current champion Charles Oliveira. He is now a prominent part of the UFC’s color-commentary crew at events.

The once highly touted featherweight Mirsad Bektic (13-4) reportedly called it a career after experiencing a three-fight losing skid.

Bektic, 30, has yet to speak publicly about his decision to retire from MMA, and his motives for doing so remain a mystery.

Marion Reneau (9-8-1) let everyone know well ahead of time that her fight with Miesha Tate in July would be her MMA swan song, and the final moment did not go her way as she suffered a loss.

Reneau, 44, is the oldest female to compete in UFC history. She fought some of the most notable names in women’s MMA history during her 13-fight octagon tenure, but with five straight defeats to close her career, knew when it was time to pull the plug and move on.

Arguably one of the most notable journeymen in MMA history, Artem Lobov (14-15-1), decided enough was enough in terms of active competition and felt the time was right to move on.

“It’s true, time to close the career,” Lobov said. “There’s plenty other options and suggestions to prolong my path, but not fighting. In order to succeed, you have to say goodbye and concentrate on other things.”

Lobov, 35, is famously the teammate and training partner of former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. After years hopping around various promotions, Lobov arrived int he UFC in December 2015, with mixed results. He lost five of his seven octagon appearances, but was a beloved figure from fans.

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion and longtime UFC contender Ronaldo Souza (26-10) decided to retire after suffering his fourth consecutive defeat.

“I’ve already fought a lot, I retired from jiu-jitsu very early, I think I’ve fought a lot of MMA and I have no intention of fighting again,” Souza said. “It’s really over.”

Souza, 42, known also as “Jacare,” fought the best of the best over his nearly 18-year career. He picked up notable wins over Chris Weidman, Derek Brunson, Vitor Belfort, and Gegard Mousasi.

Four-time UFC flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez (28-8) decided to move on from the sport after suffering his third-straight loss.

“It just kind of came very sudden,” Benavidez said. “I’ve actually known I was going to retire for a while, but you have to make it official, I guess, to retire and do all that stuff – like tell the people that it concerns, like (UFC matchmaker) Mick Maynard, that you’re going to retire, and USADA and all that.”

Benavidez, 37, was one of the founding fathers of the lighter weight classes. He left the sport as the UFC flyweight record-holder for wins (13) and knockouts (five).

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit (32-14) one of the most violent fighters in the promotion’s history, called it a career.

“It was time,” Condit said. “For a lot of different reasons. … At a certain point there’s diminishing returns, so I think it’s time to move on.”

Condit, 37, made his MMA debut in September 2002, and put on a career filled with memorable fights and incredible finishes. His notable wins included Matt Brown, Nick Diaz, Dan Hardy, and Rory MacDonald.

Just months after parting ways with the UFC, Luke Sanders(13-5) has announced his retirement from MMA following three losses out of four fights.

“I’m officially retired after eight UFC fights, two ‘Performance of the Night’ awards multiple records held in my division,” Sanders said. “And whipping everybody’s ass that was put in front of me.”

Sanders, 36, held notable UFC wins over Maximo Blanco and former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao, earning a “Performance of the Night” bonus in both bouts.

Matt Bessette (25-10) retired from competition with two CES titles around his waist.

Bessette, 36, racked up a ton of experience during a career that began in September 2007. He fought for the UFC and Bellator, among others, but his biggest success came with CES, where he ended his career as a simultaneous two-division champion.

It took almost one year from the time Bethe Correia (11-6-1) announced she was moving on from MMA to the time she got her final fight in, but the former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger ultimately walked away.

“(It’s a) very emotional moment for me,” Correia said. “It’s been very emotional for me, a lot of deja vu moments for me. I can only thank the UFC for all the opportunities they gave me.”

Correia, 38, most notably fought for the women’s 135-pound belt back in 2015 when she challenged then-champion Ronda Rousey in the pay-per-view headliner of UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She lost via first-round knockout, suffering her first professional defeat.

Middleweight Javier Torres (12-5) retired following a split decision victory at Bellator 268

Torres, 36, fought three times under the Bellator banner during a career that lasted more than 11 years.

After 11 consecutive years fighting under the UFC and Strikeforce banners, Gian Villante (17-14) put a stop to his run in active competition following a fourth consecutive loss at UFC 268.

Villante, 36, reportedly is finishing up his physical education degree and is a substitute teacher at a middle school in New York, where he also coaches the 8th grade football team and soon will become a wrestling coach.

UFC, Bellator, KSW and Cage Warriors veteran Paul Redmond (15-9) retired due to injuries that caught up with him following a nearly 11-year career.

“I think now is a good a time as ever to step away from MMA,” Redmond said. “The injuries are starting to mount up every fight camp and I haven’t made the last two fights because of them.”

Redmond, 35, was one of the early success stories within Irish MMA en route to getting opportunities to fight in some of the sport’s biggest promotions.

Four-fight UFC veteran Teemu Packalen (8-3) announced his retirement nearly two years after the last time he stepped in the cage for a fight.

“Now is the time to turn the page in your own life and to that point the gloves on the professional side,” Packalen said. “The end of my career knockout bring a health risk, which I am no longer ready to take.”

Packalen, 34, earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage, but the back-to-back first-round knockout losses to close his career played a big role in his retirement.

Former UFC women’s featherweight title challenger Felicia Spencer (9-3) cut her career shorter than most expected when she announced she was finished with fighting.

“I have decided to stop pursuing this opportunity and have no intention to continue fighting,” Spencer said. “I felt as good as I’ve ever been in my last fight and know I could have more great performances. But after 18 fights, including a few wars, I know in my heart for my future mental health that I shouldn’t be in more of those wars.

Spencer, 31, is a former Invicta FC titleholder who is the only fighter to take all-time greats Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg to a decision, albeit in a losing fashion.

Former UFC strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha (18-5) announced her career had come to an end due to post-concussions symptoms that caused fear about continuing.

“In November of 2020 after a fight, I had a really bad concussion and I had a post-concussion syndrome, which is the symptoms of a concussion for a long period of time. So I suffered with the symptoms for a little while,” Gadelha said. “It was very frustrating because my headaches were like a knife stabbing the back of my head. I was very nauseous, almost throwing up, feeling very, very bad. I couldn’t even go for a walk, couldn’t train, it was very frustrating.”

Gadelha, 33, debuted with the promotion at UFC Fight Night 45 in 2014. During her tenure, she tallied seven wins and challenged for the 115 title against then-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. The Brazilian went 3-3 down the final stretch of her career.

Michel Prazeres’ (26-4) end to his career did not come in the fashion any fighter would want, as he was essentially barred from the sport in a disgraceful manner.

Prazeres, 40, tested positive for multiple banned substance while already suspended under the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He was subsequently issued a four-year suspension, and given his age, he decided to make that the end to his career.